On October 29th, the New York State Office of Mental Health (OMH) released a Request for Applications (RFA) to support the retention and growth of the peer workforce in mental health. Through this RFA, OMH will provide one-time targeted investments to recruit and retain certified and credentialed peer specialists and advocates providing services in OMH licensed, funded, and designated programs.
OMH will provide a total of $4 million in total funding to support this opportunity. Eligible providers may apply for one-time recruitment or retention funding of $3,000 per eligible full-time employee and $1,500 per eligible part-time employee. Agencies may also receive a one-time payment of $1,000 per every full-time employee and $500 per every part-time employee to offset paid training time, interagency group supervision, or continuing education costs related to facilitating certification or credentialing. Funding may be used in combination with other workforce grant awards; however, providers must submit documentation to verify that expenses are not duplicated.
This funding is available through the enhanced Federal Medical Assistance Percentage (FMAP) of 10 percentage points for Home and Community Based Services (HCBS) contained in the American Rescue Plan Act. According to the State’s enhanced HCBS Spending Plan Quarterly Update (available here), this proposal for expanded certified and credentialed peer capacity is still pending final approval from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) and the anticipated implementation date is January 1, 2022.
The full RFA is available here, and our summary can be found here. Applications are due on January 3, 2022 and will be reviewed and awarded in the order they are received.